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We quantify intelligence (IQ), academic performance (grades), body weight (pounds or kilograms), running speed, and all sorts of other personal characteristics.  But perhaps more useful than any of those numbers would be a measure of openmindedness.

We quantify intelligence (IQ), academic performance (grades), body weight (pounds or kilograms), running speed, and all sorts of other personal characteristics.  But perhaps more useful than any of those numbers would be a measure of openmindedness.

By "openmindness" I mean simply a genuine willingness to accept something as possibly being true.  I do not mean tolerance, or a rejection of absolute truth, or [[skepticism]].  Openmindness means here what the dictionary says:  "receptive to arguments or ideas."<ref>http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?va=open-mindedness</ref>

By "openmindness" I mean a genuine willingness to consider the evidence before rejecting an idea.  I do not mean tolerance, or a rejection of absolute truth, or [[skepticism]].  Openmindness means here what the dictionary says:  "receptive to arguments or ideas."<ref>http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?va=open-mindedness</ref>

One way to measure openmindedness is to test for close-mindedness, and then take the converse.  A subject for our measurement can be asked if he views certain proposals as impossible.  By impossible I do not mean mathematically impossible, but so unlikely as to be considered absurd.  Belief in impossibility is a sign of close-mindedness, because it reflects the unwillingness of the subject to be "receptive" to the possibility.

One way to measure openmindedness is to test for close-mindedness, and then take the converse.  A subject for our measurement can be asked if he views certain proposals as impossible.  By impossible I do not mean mathematically impossible, but so unlikely as to be considered absurd.  Belief in impossibility is a sign of close-mindedness, because it reflects the unwillingness of the subject to be "receptive" to the possibility.